Obama Gets Serious

By

Peggy Noonan

Updated Aug. 29, 2008 11:59 p.m. ET

Denver

The famous Greek amphitheatre didn't look all Alexander the Great if you were there. It looked instead like the big front display window at Macy's during Presidents Day Sales Weekend. You expected to see "Sofas 40% off!" in a running line on the bottom of the screen. A friend said the columns looked like "a ballroom divider at the Hyatt Hotel."